Egypt. J. Exp. Biol. (Bot.), 13(1): 135 – 144 (2017) DOI: 10.5455/egyjebb.20170406075011 © Th e Eg yptian Society of Exp erimen tal Biolog y RESEARCH ART ICLE W af aa K . T ai a Ma nas er M. Ib r ahi m S an aa R i yad S al em A . H as s an Anato mical study of the des er t Fagoni a L. sp ecie s in L iby a ABSTRACT: Ten Fagoni a species grown in the Lib yan Desert wer e s ubject ed i n t his s tud y, Fagoni a arabica L., F. brugui eri DC., F. cretic a L., F . gluti nos a D elile, F. i ndic a Burm., F. microphylla P omel, F. sinaica Boiss ., F . schweinf urthii Hadidi, F. t enuifoli a St eud ., and F. t hebaica Boiss . A nat omic al c haract ers included t he inter nal str uct ures of bot h st ems and l eaves hav e b een inv estigat ed i n the present s tud y. T axonomical key has b een construc ted acc ording to t he int ernal struct ures of t he st em s and t he l eav es. The results of AN OV A test indicat ed that fiv e char act ers, number of p hloem fiber patches i n the cort ex, number of parenc hyma l ayers i n the c ortex, ratio betw een p hloem and Vasc ular tiss ue, rati o betw een phl oem and stem r adius and rati o between xyl em and stem radius, are highl y signific antl y diff erent within t he st udied speci es. The previous trials of cl assific ati on hav e b een discus sed acc ording to the obtai ned r esult s. KEY WORDS: Desert plant , F agoni a, Leaf anatom y, Lib ya, Stem anatom y, T axonom y. CORRESP ONDENCE: W af aa K . T ai a Bot any and Micr obiolog y D epartm ent , F ac ult y of Scienc e, Univ ersit y of Al exandri a, Egypt E-mail: taia55taxonomy@hotmail.com ISSN: 1687-7497 * Ma nas er M. Ib r ahi m * S al em A . H as s a n ** S an aa R i yad * Botany and Microbiolog y D epartm ent , Facul t y of S cience, Univ ersit y of Alexandria, Eg ypt ** Genetics Depar tment, Faculty of Agriculture, Universit y of Al exandria, Eg ypt ARTICLE CODE: 13.02.17 I NTRODUCTI ON : In Libya, Z ygophyllaceae comprises eight genera and twent y-five species (Feng et al., 2013). One of the important genera belonging to this family i s Fagonia. The genus comprises twelve species growing in different phyto geographical regions in Libya ( Abdul Ghafoor , 1977). The taxonom y of F agonia is very difficult mainly due to a high degree of morphological plasticity and thereby adaptations to cli matic conditions (Zohary, 1972; Danin, 1996). Ozenda and Quézel (1956) grouped the North African Fagonia species into four natural groups, which can be consider ed as sections according to vegetative morphological characters: (1) F. kahirinacretica-flamandii group, (2) F. arabicabruguieri group, (3) F. glutinosa-latifolia group, and (4) F. microphylla- group. However, El Hadidi (1966a) described 18 species of Fagonia and constructed an artificial key for their identification. Batanouny and Bat anouny (1970) approved El-Hadidi classification of the genus, who classified the Fagonia species in Egypt into three groups. These groups besides the grouping of the genus by Ozenda and Quezel (1956) are summarized in table 1. On Line ISSN: 2090 - 0503 http://www.egyseb.org 136 Egypt. J. Exp. Biol. (Bot.), 13(1): 135 – 144 (2017) Table 1. Classification of Fagonia Species according to Ozenda and Quezel (1956) and El-Hadidi (1966a). Ozenda Quezel (1956) F. kahirina - cretica - flamandii group arabica-bruguieri group El-Hadidi (1966a) F. arabica, F. bruguieri, F. myriacantha, F. hassasi, F. thebaica, F. boulosii, F. indica, F. taechholmiana F. alba. F. arabica - bruguieri group glutinosa group F. glutinosa, F.tristis, F. mollis, F. microphylla, F. latifolia F. isotricha. Also, El-Hadidi (1972b; 1974a-c) classified Fagonia species into complexes according to morphological variations. Beier et al. (2004) studied the phylogenetic relationships within genus Fagonia based on trnL and ITS DNA sequences and they did not support the natural groups of Fagonia, and showed that all species from the Old World, except F. cretica form a weakly s upported clade. Fahn and Shimony (1996) described the glandular hairs and secretory cells covering the leave of three Fagonia species grown in Jerusalem, F. mollis var. hispida, F. glutinosa and F. arabica. Abdel Khalik and Hassan (2012) investigated seed and trichome morphology of Fagonia in Egypt and indicated that the seed and trichome morphology are useful in distinguishing the species and not supporting the natural groups. El-Hadidi (1966a; 1972a-c; 1973; 1974ac) published a series of taxonomical works on the Egyptian Z ygophyllaceae in ge neral and genus Fagonia specific. He classified the genus into three categories as mentioned in table 1. He gave the type of leav es shape and pubescence a priority step in the identification of species. Anatomical investigations within the Fagonia species in relation to taxonomy were rare. Many works have been done dealt with the anat omy of the genus in relation to adaptation to ecological characters ( Mehsud et al., 2013). Few studies hav e been done in relation to taxonomy, from that El -Hadidi (1966b) who m ade an important work in the study of the internal structure of genus Fagonia of the Egyptian species in relation to Boissierꞌs (1867) concept of classifying these species based on a terete or a quadrangular stem. His investigation revealed the presence of three anatomical patterns viz. basic, terete and quadrangular, based upon th e shape of secondary growth-ring and the position of the pith, whether centric or eccentric. Species claimed by Boissier (1867) to be terete in outline hav e also t erete anat omical pattern, while those claimed by him to have quadrangular outline, have eithe r a basic or quadrangular anatomical pattern. The anatomical patterns have been f ound to agree with natural groups of Fagonia. The key species of these natural groups have the basic anatomical pattern. This gives though ISSN: 1687-7497 On Line ISSN: 2090 - 0503 F. glutinosa-latifolia group F. microphylla group sinica group F. sinica, F. cretica F. bisharorum. specialization of terete pattern cha racteristic of advanced species of the Arabica-bruguieri group, and it is also the origin of the quadrangular pattern characteristic of the advanced species of glutinosa and sinaica groups. Sheahan and Cutler (1993) made a contribution of vegetative anat om y to the systematic of the Zygophyllaceae R.Br., the Zygophyllaceae sensu lato. The anat omy of 37 species in 19 genera is described, and the results of tests of C 4 activity in 27 species are given. There is anatomical evidence to support the exclusion of Balanites into a separate family, and some groups (Engler's Peganoideae and Nitrarioideae) have characteristics which set them apart from the rest of the family. M ATERI AL AND M ETHODS: Locati on and G en eral D escri pti on: Libya is a countr y in the Maghreb regi on of North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea, Egypt, Sudan, Chad, Niger, and Tunisia. In Libya about 94 to 96% of the land is desert and it is one of the driest countries in the world (Holdridge, 1974). The genus Fagonia is represented by tw elve species distributed in the arid Libyan Desert as illustrated in figure 1 and mentioned in Jafri and El-Gadi (1977). Species of Fagonia grow in different phyto-geographical regions with different environmental conditions. Table 2 shows the studied Fagonia species which collected from the field and allocated in Bengasi and Tripoli university herbaria. Fig. 1. Distribution of Fagonia species in Libya http://www.egyseb.org 137 T a i a e t a l . , A na t o m i c a l s t ud y o f t he d e s e r t F a g o n i a L . S p e c i e s i n L i b y a Table 2. The studied Fagonia species grown in Libya Showing their locations in Libya and throughout the world, as well as their growing habitats. Fagonia Species Libyan Distribution in Libya Global distribution Habitat Fagonia arabica L. (two varieties; thilhoana and viscidissima) Bark - Wadi Bughrara (Tumb) - Tijarbi sabha - Hun - Gebel Uweinat Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Palestine, Arabia. Rocky and gravelly deserts F. bruguieri DC. Gara Al -Tifarni, (Weshka) - El-Washka - Fezzan, - Sebha, along Hun highway, - Wadi Soda. N. and E. Tropical Africa. Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Sandy and gravelly plains and desert wadis. 3 F. cretica L. Gharian (Gebel Nafousa) - shik Shook (Jadoo) - El Homs, - Sharshara, near Tarhuna - El-Naggaza (Khoms) WadiDerna - Wadi al-Ramlah - Derna Tobruk - WadiMalah (Nalut) Mediterranean element; found in S. Europe, Canary Islands and North African Calcareous Coastal Ridges. 4 F. glutinosa Delile Wazen, Libyan -Tunisian Boundary Gebel Nefousa, - Hun - wadi Soda. Gara El-Tifarni, - Weshka North African Sahara Eastwards to Kuwait, Bahrein and Pakistan Sandy and Stony Wadis and Plains 5 F. indica Burm. Sebha on Sebha-hun - Al-Abiad - Brak, - wadiBughrara, - WadiAtiq. -Tuarbi 6 F. microphylla Pomel Nalut. Pakistan Westward to N. Africa. Sinai, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco. 7 F. sinaica Boiss. (three varieties; pseudocretica, longips and kahirica) Wadi Malah, (Nalut) - Gharian Hills, Roadside, - Shak Shook (Jadoo) - Abu-Gheilan. Wadi Al-AitalBerween Sokna and Wadi Weshka, North Africa, Sinai and Palestine Sandy plains 8 F. schweinfurthii Hadidi Gare al Tifarmi (Weshka) - Hun - El Soda Mountains Fezzan. Oman, Emirates, Arabia, India, Pakistan, Libya, Egypt and Palestine. Wetland habitats 9 F. tenuifolia Steud. Wadi Malah (Nalut) - Besalt hillock, near Hun, Wadi Sada - Wehka. Arabia, S. Egypt, South Libya and Algeria, Central Sahara, Arabia. Wadi sandy beds 10 F. thebaica Boiss. upper heights of Karkur Ibrahim at Jebel Uweinat Libya, Egypt and Palestine Sandy and Stony Wadis and Plains 1 2 Sandy plains Stony Wadis M ethods: Herbarium Sheets allocated in Benghazi and Tripoli universities herbaria as well as fresh materials collected from El-Gabel AlAkhdar are subjected in this study. Transverse sections in the fourth internode, as well as in the mid-leaves have been done based on customary method of Johansen (1940). Sections in the leaves were fragile and hardly done due to dryness of the herbarium sheets. The stem and leaves Transverse sections have been investigated and examined using light microscope. All measurements are by graduated ocular micrometer built on the light microscope. All measured characters have been subjected to Analysis of Variance one way ANOVA (single factor ANOVA) using Microsoft excel 2007. RESULTS AND DI SCUSSI ON : Transv ers e s ec ti ons i n t he s t em s how diff er ent o utli nes w it h m oder at e par enc hymat ous c ort ex enf or c ed wi t h pat c hes of scl er enc hym a tis s ue. T he vasc ul ar tis sues ar e of t he ec top hl oi c siphonos t el e t yp e w her e a c ompl et e cir cl e of phl oem encl os es a c ompl et e cir cl e of xyl em . The pi t h narr ow, c ompr es s ed, slig h tl y or deepl y arc ed of is o-di am etric or irreg ul arl y shap ed fl att ened p ar enc hym a cells . I ISSN: 1687-7497 The tr ans ver s e s ecti ons i n t he leav es show di ff er ent l eaf t hi ck nes s and s hap es . The m es op hyl l m ay b e dif f er enti ated or not into p ali sad e and sp ong y ti ss ues . T he vasc ul ar b undl es s mal l, m ay or m ay not hav e disti nc t midrib , w it h sm all b undl es al ong t he lami na and l ac k b undl e s heat h. From t abl e 3, t he s tem outli nes of t he st udi ed sp ec ies ar e of f our m aj or s hap es, circ ul ar w av y, ellip tic , r ec t angul ar or cresc ent , t hes e s hap es app ear ed i n t he transv er se sect ions as s een i n pl ate 1. T he outl ine of t he s t em w as t he m ai n c har ac ter on w hic h El-H adidi ( 1966b) r eli es i n his groupi ngs of F agoni a speci es . In spit e of that, t he pr es ent st ud y cannot c onsid er t his char act er as t he fi rs t one i n t he gr oupi ng of the s t udi ed t axa as t he herbari um specim ens m ay b e c ompr es s ed or t ake vari ous unreal s hapes. A cc ordi ng to t his char act er , t he s t udi ed speci es c an be cat eg oriz ed under f our gr oups, t he f irst group wi t h cir c ul ar w av y s t em outli ne a nd incl ud ed F . ar abi c a ( 2 v ari eti es) , F. br ugui eri, F. gl uti nos a, F. indi c a, F. micr ophyll a, F. si nai c a v. kahiri na, F. tenui f oli a and F . t hebaic a. T he s ec ond group had ellipt ic s t em outli ne wi th protr usi ons and i ncl ud ed tw o t axa, F. cr eti ca and F. si naic a v . ps eudocr eti c a. T he third group had rect ang ul ar s tem outli nes wi th On Line ISSN : 2090 - 0503 http://www.egyseb.org 138 Egypt. J. Exp. Biol. (Bot.), 13(1): 135 – 144 (2017) protr usi ons i ncl ud ed one t axa onl y, F. sinai c a v . l ongi pes . W hil e t he f o ur t h gr oup incl ud ed one sp eci es F. sc hwei nfur t hii wi th cresc ent st em outli ne. T hes e r esults disagr ee wi t h t hat f ou nd b y El- H adidi (1966b), as he cl assi fi ed the s t udi ed Fagoni a sp eci es on t he b asi s of a t eret e or a q uadr ang ul ar st em . Hi s i nv estig ati on rev eal ed t he pres enc e of t hr ee anat omi cal pat t er ns , basic , t er ete and q uadr ang ul ar, whi c h was b as ed up on t he s hape of sec ondar y gr ow t h-ri ng and t he p osi ti on of the pi t h, w het her centric or ecc entric . T his wor k gr ouped t he st udi ed t axa i nt o f our cat eg ori es , and cl ari fi ed t hat m ost of t he pre-c ons ider ed q uadr ang ul ar st em outli ne ar e cir c ular wit h w av y und ul ati ons i n t he tran sv er se s ecti ons of t he st ems. Ac c ordingl y, t hi s g at her ed Fagoni a sp eci es of t he arabi c a- br ugui eri wit h F . gl uti nosa and F. si nai ca v. k ahiri na in one gr oup. Ellip tic st em outli ne c har ac t eriz ed b oth F. cretic a and F . si naic a v. ps eudocr etic a, whil e F . si nai c a v. l ongi pes hav e r ec t angular st em outli ne. Meanw hil e, F . sc hweinf urt hii is the onl y speci es wit h cr es cent shap e st em outl ine ( Pl at e 1). The numb er of phloem fiber patc hes in the c ortex is an import ant c har act eristic featur e in t his st ud y. It sep arat ed t he st udied Fagonia speci es i nt o t hree differ ent groups. The first group has up t o 12 p atc hes of fibers included fiv e species, F. cr etica, F. glutinosa, F. sinaica v. longi pes , and v . pseudocr etica . The sec ond group has 12- 20 p atc hes of fibers included 5 sp eci es F. ar abic a (2 varieties), F . microphylla, F. sinaica v. k ahirina , and F . thebaica . W hile t he l ast group has more t han 25 pat ches of fibers included four species , F . brugui eri, F. i ndic a, F. sc hwei nf urthii , and F . tenuif olia. T he number of par enc hym a layers in t he c ort ex was up t o 11 l ayers i n m ost of the studied t axa, except F . microphylla, F. sinaic a v . l ongipes , and v . ps eudocretic a nev er exc eed 6 layers. The t hick ness of t he v asc ular tissue is not import ant i n the delimitati on of t axa because it m ay be d ue t o ec ological factors and w ater av ailability i n t he different locati ons. T he v asc ular tiss ue i n all t he studied species have ect ophloic siphonost ele struct ure, t aki ng ei ther elliptic or circul ar shap e w hich gav e differ ent s hap es of t he isodiametr ic or flat tened par enc hym at ous pith. T he s hap e and width of t he pith group ed the studied t axa i nt o four groups, as well, but the t axa in each group are not t he s ame as ISSN: 1687-7497 On Line ISSN: 2090 - 0503 those in the groupings according t o stem outline. These groups are as f ollow: T he first group with narrow cr esc ent pit h and includ ed F. arabica v . t hilhoana, F. br uguieri, F. cretica, F. sinaic a v . k ahirina, and F. schweinf urthii. The s econd group had wide crescent pith and i ncludes F. arabic a v. viscidissima, F . gl utinos a, F. t enuif olia , and F. thebaic a. T he t hird group with circle pith and had F. microphylla onl y, while t he last group with li near narrow pit h and had F. sinaic a v . ps eudocretic a, and v . l ongipes. The s hape of t he pith drew the att ention of Boissi er (1867) who grouped t he F agonia species ac cording t o t he pith, w het her c entric or eccentric. Speci es claimed b y B oissier to be terete in outline have also t erete anat omical p att ern, whil e t hose claim ed by him t o hav e quadrangular outline, hav e eit her a basic or quadrangular anatomic al p att ern. The anat omical patter ns hav e been f ound to agree with natur al groups of F agonia. T he key speci es of t hese natur al groups hav e t he basic anat omical patt ern as considered by Boissi er (1867). He poi nt ed to t he specialization of t eret e p att ern charac teristic of advanc ed species of the Arabica- brugui eri group, and it is also the origin of t he quadrang ular patt ern charac teristic of t he advanced sp ecies of gluti nos a and sinaica groups. The study of the internal structure of the leaves of Fagonia was rare, and if found was in relation to C 4 structure. The results obtained from the transverse sections in the leaves of the studied taxa revealed that all the species had linear shaped in the transverse sections , except F. thebaica which was circular in the transverse sections (Plate 2). The mesophyll tissues are either distinguished into palisade and spongy tissues in both F. cretica and F. sinaica v. pseudocretica or undifferentiated in the rest of the studied species. The most obvious character in all the st udied taxa that there is no kranz anatomy can be found and the vascular bundles are small with few xylem and phloem vessels. There is no obvious midrib in F. arabica v. thilhoana (Table 4) and the number of the lateral bundles varied greatly within the studied taxa from 5 up to 20 small lateral veins (Table 4 & Plate 2). The anatomy of the leaves does not give any obvious characters in delimiting the taxa, but it can give ideas about the environmental conditions under which the plant survive. http://www.egyseb.org 139 T a i a e t a l . , A na t o m i c a l s t ud y o f t he d e s e r t F a g o n i a L . S p e c i e s i n L i b y a Table 3. Anatomical stem characters of the studied Fagonia species. Key to table 3. No. Ph f. p. = No. phloem fibers patches, No. p. L. = No. of parenchyma Layers, X. / St. R. = xyl em / stem radius, Ph. / St. R. = Phloem / stem rad ius, Ph. / V.T. = Phloem / Vascu lar tissue, Shape of P. P. = Shape of pith parenchyma, Int. spa. = Intercellular spaces. Cortex No . Species Outline 1 F. arabica v. thilhoana 2 Vascular tissue No. Ph. f. p. No. P.L. X. / St. R. Ph. / St. R. Circular wavy 15-18 16 ± 1 7- 9 7.8 ± 1.30 0.077 -0.085 0.080 F. arabica v. viscidissima. Circular wavy 12-14 13 ± 1 9 - 13 10 ± 1 3 F. bruguieri Circular wavy More than 25 4 F. cretica Elliptic with protrusions 5 F. glutinosa 6 Pith Ph./V.T. Shape of P. P. Int. spa. Pith size 0.035 0.080 0.060 0.431 0.533 0.478 Isodiametric Narrow Narrow crescent 0.058 - .077 0.067 0.030 0.058 0.040 0.33 0.54 0.422 Isodiametric Narrow Wide crescent 6 -10 8.6 ± 1.673 0.08 0.132 0.104 0.028 – 0.06 0.042 0.225 0.454 0.305 Isodiametric Medium Narrow crescent 9 - 12 11.4 ± 1.949 6 - 10 7.8 ± 1.483 0.07 0.087 0.075 0.023 0.034 0.028 0.241 0.4 0.296 Isodiametric Medium Narrow crescent Circular wavy 6 - 11 8.2 ± 1.483 8 - 10 8.8 ± 0.836 0.075 - 0.10 0.089 0.025 - 0.05 0.035 0.2 – 0.36 0.288 Isodiametric Narrow Wide crescent F. indica Circular wavy More than 25 8 - 11 9.6 ± 1.140 0.0650.12 0.076 0.028 - 0.07 0.044 0.2410.36 0.302 Isodiametric Medium Narrow crescent 7 F. microphylla Circular wavy 12-20 16 ± 3.391 4-6 4.8 ± 0.836 0.090.208 0.139 0.041 0.075 0.062 0.185 0.333 0.248 Flattened Absent 8 F. sinaica v. pseudocretica Elliptic with protrusions 8 - 10 9.2 ± 0.836 5-6 5.4 ± 0.547 0.0780.135 0.104 0.021 0.045 0.029 Flattened Absent Narrow line 9 F. sinaica v. longipes Rectangular with protrusions 9 - 11 10.8 ± 1.483 3-5 4.2 ± 0.836 0.0270.055 0.036 0.036 0.042 0.038 0.173 0.235 0.200 0.36 0.63 0.488 Flattened Absent Narrow line 10 F. sinaica v. kahirina Circular wavy 12 -14 13 ± 1 8 - 11 9.4 ± 1.140 0.0570.090 0.073 0.030 0.052 0.040 0.25 0.409 0.344 Isodiametric Absent Narrow crescent 11 F. schweinfurthii Crescent More than 25 9 - 11 9.8 ± 0.836 0.0510.092 0.072 0.022 0.037 0.03 0.18 0.32 0.227 Isodiametric Medium Narrow crescent 12 F. tenuifolia Circular wavy More than 25 7 - 10 8.4 ± 1.140 Wide crescent Circular wavy 13 -16 15 ± 1.581 6 - 10 8.2 ± 1.788 0.166 0.428 0.252 0.25 0.521 0.416 Absent F. thebaica 0.04 – 0.062 0.052 0.025 0.075 0.045 Flattened 13 0.08 0.141 0.12 0.0560.096 0.075 Isodiametric Narrow Wide crescent I ISSN: 1687-7497 On Line ISSN : 2090 - 0503 Wide circle http://www.egyseb.org 140 Egypt. J. Exp. Biol. (Bot.), 13(1): 135 – 144 (2017) Plate 1. T.S. in the 4th internode of the stem of the studied Fagonia species. ISSN: 1687-7497 On Line ISSN: 2090 - 0503 http://www.egyseb.org 141 T a i a e t a l . , A na t o m i c a l s t ud y o f t he d e s e r t F a g o n i a L . S p e c i e s i n L i b y a Table 4. Anatomical leaf characters of the studied Fagonia species. No 1 Characters Species F. arabica v. thilhoana Leaf shape Epi. Cell shape mesophyll tissue type Midrib No. Vascular system linear undulated Rectangular undifferentiated Absent 8 - 10 (8.8) ± 0.836 2 F. arabica v. viscidissima. Linear Rectangular undifferentiated irregularly shaped Present 8 - 12 (9.8) ±1.643 3 F. bruguieri Narrow linear Rectangular flattened undifferentiated Present 10 - 12 (10.8) ± 0.836 4 F. cretica Narrow linear Rectangular flattened Differentiated Present 7 - 10 (8.6) ± 1.140 5 F. glutinosa Linear undulate Rectangular undifferentiated Present 10 - 14 (12.2) ± 1.643 6 F. indica Narrow linear Rectangular flattened undifferentiated Present 15 - 20 (17) ± 1.870 7 F. microphylla Linear undulate Rectangular narrow undifferentiated Present 9 - 13 (11.6) ± 1.673 8 F. sinaica v. pseudocretica Linear Rectangular differentiated Present 8 - 11(9.6) ±1.140 9 F. sinaica v. longipes Narrow linear Rectangular undifferentiated Present 10 - 14 (12.4) ±1.516 10 F. sinaica v. kahirina Linear Narrow rectangular differentiated Present 10 -14 (11.8) ± 1.643 11 F. schweinfurthii linear smooth Narrow rectangular differentiated Present 12 - 18 (15.8) ± 2.280 12 F. tenuifolia Linear Rectangular undifferentiated Present 8 - 11 (9.6) ± 1.140 13 F. thebaica Circular Rectangular Undifferentiated Present 5 - 7(5.8) ± 0.836 I ISSN: 1687-7497 On Line ISSN : 2090 - 0503 http://www.egyseb.org 142 Egypt. J. Exp. Biol. (Bot.), 13(1): 135 – 144 (2017) Plate 2. T.S. in the leaves of the studied Fagonia species. No. Species No. Species No. Species 1 F. arabica L. v. thilhoana 2 F. arabica L. v. viscidissima 3 F. bruguieri DC. 4 F. cretica L. 5 F. glutinosa Delile 6 F. indica Burm. 7 F. microphyla Pomel 8 F. sinaica Boiss. v. pseudocretica 9 F. sinaica Boiss. v. longipes 10 F. sinaica Boiss. v. kahirina 11 F. schweinfurthii Hadidi 12 F. tenuifolia Steud. 13 F. thebaica Boiss. The results of the ANOVA test as shown in table 5, revealed that the number of phloem fiber patches, parenchyma layers in the cortex, ratio between xylem thickness and stem radius, phloem thickness and stem radius and between phloem and the thickness of the vascular tissues are highly significant different between the studied species and must be consid ered in delimiting the studied taxa. This work needs further statistical analysis on specimens gathered from different sites. Table 5. Anatomical Characters Subjected to ANOVA Test. 1 2 3 4 5 Characters No. phloem fibers patches No. parenchyma layers Xylem / Stem radius Phloem/Stem radius Phloem/vascular tissue ISSN: 1687-7497 F value 221.2178 15.08511 7.259141 3.705578 8.350638 On Line ISSN: 2090 - 0503 P value 3.65 E-40 5.88 E-13 1.42 E- 07 0.000468 1.73 E-08 F critical 1.9431617 1.9431617 1.9431617 1.9431617 1.9431617 http://www.egyseb.org 143 T a i a e t a l . , A na t o m i c a l s t ud y o f t he d e s e r t F a g o n i a L . S p e c i e s i n L i b y a I denti fi cati on key of the studi ed F agoni a sp eci es accordi ng to anatom i cal ch ar acter s: 1- Rec tangul ar outline of the s tem ------------------------------1- Elliptic Compress ed outli ne of t he st em --------------------1- Elliptic outline of the s tem with protrusi ons ---------------1- Cresc ent outline of t he st em ----------------------------------1- Circular w av y outline of the st em 2- St em outli ne wi th upper groove 3-Cort ex has tw o big patches of fibers und er eac h protrusion 4- N umber of fib er patc hes mor e t han 25 -----------------3- Cort ex has no fiber patc hes und er eac h t he protrusi on 4- N umber of fib er patc hes in the c ort ex m ore than 25-2- St em outli ne wi thout grooves 3- Cort ex has elev at ed fiber pat ches -------------------------3- Cort ex has embedded fiber pat ches 4- N umber of fib er patc hes 6- 11-----------------------------4- N umber of fib er patc hes 12-16 5- Leaf wide circular -----------------------------------------5- Leaf linear -narrow 1- 1. 5 mm ---------------------------5- Leaf linear-wide from 1. 5-2. 5 mm ---------------------5- Leaf linear - long from 3 – 4 mm -----------------------4- N umber of fib er patc hes mor e 25 ------------------------- F. sinaica v. longi pes F. sinaica v. ps eudocre tica F. cretic a F. sc hwei nfurt hii F. t enuifoli a F. indica F. microphylla F. gl utinos a F. t hebaic a F. ar abic a v. viscidissim a F. ar abic a v. t hilhoana F. sinaica v. kahirina F. br uguieri REFERENCES: Ab d el Kh al ik K, Hassan NMS. 2012. Seed and trich ome morph ol og y of th e Eg yp tian Fagoni a (Zyg oph yll aceae) with emph asis on th eir systematic impl ication s. Nord. J. Bot., 30(1): 116-126. Ab dul Gh afoor A. 1977. Fl ora of Lib ya: Zyg oph yl l aceae. Dep artmen t Botan y, Al Faateh Un iv., Vol . 38, pp . 55. Batan ouny K, Batan oun y M. 1970. Autecol og y of common Egyptian Fagoni a sp ecies. Phyton An n. Rei Bot. A, 14(1-2): 79-92. Beier BA, Nyl and er JAA, Ch ase MW, Thul in M. 2004. Ph yl og en etic rel ation sh ip s and b iog eography of th e d esert pl an t g enu s Fagoni a (Zyg oph yll aceae), in ferred b y p arsimony and Bayesian mod el averag ing . Mol . Phyl og en et. Evol ., 33(1): 91-108. Boissier E. 1867. Fl ora Orien tal es 1: 906 -908 H. Georg , Basel -Gen eve. Dan in A. 1996. Pl an ts of De sert Dun es. Berl in Heid elb erg, Sp rin g er, p p. 153 -156. El -Had id i MN. 1966a. Th e g enu s Fagoni a L. in Eg ypt. Cand oll ea, 21(1): 13 -53. El -Had id i MN. 1966b . An atomical featu res of stem in Eg yp tian sp ecies of Fagoni a L. Candol l ea, 21(2): 357-364. El -Had id i MN. 1972a. Th e famil y Zyg ophyll aceae in Eg ypt. I. Fagoni a L. an d Seetzeni a R. Br. Bot. Notiser, 125: 523-534. El-Hadidi MN. 1972b. Neue Beobachtungen a der Gattung Fagonia L. Candollea, 27(1): 83-97. El -Had id i MN. 1972c. Zyg oph yll aceae, In : “Fl ora Iran ica. (Rech ing er KH. Ed.)”. Graz – Au stria, Lfg., 98: 1-32. El -Had id i MN. 1973. Revision of Fagoni a Sp ecies (Zygophyllaceae) with Tri - to Un ifoliolate and I ISSN: 1687-7497 Simple leaves. Österr. Bot. Zeitschrift,121(5): 269-278. El -Had id i MN. 1974a. Weitere Beob achtu ng en an d er Gattu ng Fagoni a L. Mitteilung en d er Botan isch en Staatssamml . Mün ch en, 11(2): 379 - 403. El -Had id i MN. 1974b. Recent app roach es in Zyg oph yl l aceae of Eg yp t. J. Eg yp t. Bot. Soc., Yb k.3: 15–21. El -Had id i MN. 1974c. Zyg oph yll aceae. In : “Stud en t’s Fl ora of Eg ypt. (Tackh ol m V. ed .)”. 2 n d ed ition. Beirut, pp . 300–313. Fahn A, Sh imony C. 1996. Gl andul ar trich omes of Fagoni a L. (Zyg oph yll aceae) sp ecies: stru ctu re, d evel op men t and secreted material. Ann . Bot., 77: 25 -34. Feng Y, Lei JQ, Xu XW, Pan BR. 2013. Comp osition and ch aracteristics of Libyan fl ora. Arch. Biol. Sci., Belg rad, 65(2): 651 657. Hold ridg e LR. 1974. Determin ation of world pl an t formation s from simpl e cl imatic d ata. Scien ce, 105(2727): 367-368. Jafri SMH, El -Gad i A. 1977. Fl ora of Lib ya. Al Fateeh Un iversity Press, Trip ol i, Lib ya. 38: 12–39. Joh an sen DA. 1940. Pl an t micro techn iqu e. 1 st ed . McGraw-Hill. Book Comp an y, INC. New York and Lond on, pp . 49–95. Meh sud A, Mehmood S, Muh ammad A, Kh an RU, Kh anl SU, Kh anl HU, Wazi R, Hu ssain Z. 2013. Morph ol og y and an atomy of some weed s from fl ora of District Bann u, Pakistan . Pakistan J. Weed Sci. Res., 19(4): 437-445. On Line ISSN : 2090 - 0503 http://www.egyseb.org ‫)‪Egypt. J. Exp. Biol. (Bot.), 13(1): 135 – 144 (2017‬‬ ‫‪Zyg oph yl l aceae R. Br. Bot. J. Linn . Soc.,‬‬ ‫‪113(3): 227-262.‬‬ ‫‪Zoh ary M. 1972. Fl ora Pal aestin a II. Jerusal em,‬‬ ‫‪Israel Acad . Sci. Hu man ities, pp. 489.‬‬ ‫‪144‬‬ ‫‪Ozend a P, Qu ézel P. 1956. Les Zyg op hyl l acées‬‬ ‫‪d e l 'Afriqu e du Nord et d u Sah ara. Trav.‬‬ ‫‪In st. Rech. Sah arienn es, 14: 23 -84.‬‬ ‫‪Sh eah an MC, Cutl er DF. 1993. Contribu tion s of‬‬ ‫‪veg etative an atomy to th e systematics of‬‬ ‫دراسة تشريحية ألنواع جنس األفسور الصحراوية في ليبيا‬ ‫وفاء كمال طايع‪ ،‬مناسر محمد خليل إبراهيم‪ ،‬سناء أحمد رياض*‪ ،‬سالم أحمد حسن‬ ‫قسم النبات والميكروبيولوجي ‪ ،‬كلية العلوم‪ ،‬جامعة اإلسكندرية‪ ،‬مصر‬ ‫* قسم الوراثة‪ ،‬كلية الزراعة‪ ،‬جامعة اإلسكندرية‪ ،‬مصر‬ ‫تضمنت هذه الدراسة وصف عشرة أنواع من جنس‬ ‫األفسور الذي ينمو في صحراء ليبيا وهي‪Fagonia arabica L., :‬‬ ‫‪F. bruguieri DC., F. cretica L., F. glutinosa Delile., F.‬‬ ‫‪indica Burm., F. microphylla Pomel., F. sinaica Boiss., F.‬‬ ‫‪schweinfurthii Hadidi, F. tenuifolia Steud. and F. thebaica‬‬ ‫‪ . Boiss.‬ولقد تم دراسة الصفات التشريحية والتراكيب الداخلية‬ ‫لكل من السيقان واألوراق لتلك النباتات موضوع البحث‪ .‬وعليه‬ ‫فقد تم بناء مفتاح تصنيفي وفقا للهيكل الداخلي للسيقان‬ ‫واألوراق‪ .‬وأشارت نتائج اختبار تحليل التباين اإلحصائي )‪(ANOVA‬‬ ‫‪http://www.egyseb.org‬‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫خمس من الصفات التشريحية تختلف اختالفا‬ ‫إلى أن هناك‬ ‫ذات تميز عالي في األنواع محل الدراسة وهي؛ عدد مجموعات‬ ‫خاليا ألياف اللحاء في القشرة‪ ،‬عدد طبقات النسيج‬ ‫البرانشيمي في القشرة‪ ،‬النسبة بين ُ‬ ‫سمك نسيج اللحاء‬ ‫بسمك األنسجة الوعائية‪ ،‬النسبة بين ُ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫سمك نسيج‬ ‫مقارنة‬ ‫اللحاء وطول نصف قطر الساق وكذلك النسبة بين ُ‬ ‫سمك نسيج‬ ‫الخشب وطول نصف قطر الساق ‪ .‬ولقد تم مناقشة محاوالت‬ ‫تصنيف هذا الجنس السابقة في ضوء النتائج التي تم الحصول‬ ‫عليها من هذه الدراسة‪.‬‬ ‫‪On Line ISSN: 2090 - 0503‬‬ ‫‪ISSN: 1687-7497‬‬